Approximately 75 irrigation customers attended our first Irrigation Workshop at the Grant County Fairgrounds, Dec. 11, in what promises to become an annual or biennial (every two years) event.Grant PUD subject-matter experts talk about Grant PUD's 2020 budget — which includes no rate increase for the second consecutive year — our expectations for f...

This 100,000-pound, 115 kV, transformer arrived at the Randolph Road Substation Dec. 5 from its manufacturer, Virginia Transformer Corp. of Pocatello, Idaho. Grant PUD is in the process of expanding the substation from its current footprint of 29,830 sq. ft. to 40,035 sq. ft. Improvements include one new transformer line-up to the existing two line...

About eight of every 10 Grant PUD customers show high levels of satisfaction with the utility, according to the results of a recent telephone survey among customers throughout the county. Senior Manager of External Affairs, Andrew Munro, told commissioners that the results of the biennial survey showed an overall satisfaction score of 82%, down fro...

The Grant PUD electric system from Royal City north to Quincy and Ephrata will become more resilient to power outages and gain capacity for new customers following a 2-year, approximately $58 million package of upgrades slated to begin construction in mid-2020.Total project cost will be refined in the coming months.Grant PUD project managers David ...

EPHRATA — Grant PUD commissioners Tuesday unanimously approved a $291 million budget for 2020 with no electric-rate increase for any customer group except the approximately 25 cryptocurrency mining operations classified as "evolving industries."A solid revenue outlook through 2024 and years of careful budgeting and planning have Grant PUD well-posi...

​Grant PUD employees and customers achieved the goal of having enough donated food to fill the extra-large two-man line truck bucket during the annual Fill-the-Bucket Food Drive last week. The drive, which is a joint effort between Grant PUD and the IBEW Local 77, collected food for local Grant County food banks at Grant PUD's local offices and wit...

Fill-the-Bucket Food Drive 2019 happens Nov. 18 to 22 and includes a food-collection event at the Moses Lake Walmart Wednesday, Nov. 20 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Food donations will be collected in the local offices and HOB for area food banks. Non-perishable foods only, please. The food drive is a great way to interact with the community. Anyone who w...

Commissioners unanimously agreed Tuesday that no Grant PUD customer, except those classified as "evolving industry" under Rate 17, will receive an electric-rate increase in 2020.Commissioners Tom Flint, Judy Wilson and Nelson Cox were present for the vote. They said the absent commissioners, Dale Walker and Larry Schaapman, also agreed."This is a b...

 Ancient tradition and modern ingenuity were both on display for the nearly 400 area students who attended Archaeology Days at the Wanapum Heritage center on Oct. 15.The first day of this year's 2-day event was geared toward students who enjoyed numerous hands-on and educational activities.Student activities included hide processing, atlatl th...

Record participation for a good cause at King of the Reach salmon derby  VERNITA — Young Alex Herrera pulled back on the rod, the line taught, his back arched against the strain as if he were battling a deep-sea marlin or sail fish.He may as well have been. A video shot by his uncle Jose Merced shows the 9-year-old from Pasco landing a nearly ...

​This column by Malcolm Woolf, president and CEO of the National Hydropower Association, appeared Oct. 22, 2019 in The Hill, a Washington D.C.-based news website covering politics and government. The path to carbon free flows through hydropowerBY MALCOLM WOOLF, OPINION CONTRIBUTOR The Hill10/22/19 https://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/energy-envi...

With the official completion of Grant PUD's fiber-optic network to customers in Sunland Estates, expansion work is now complete for two of the nine predetermined areas scheduled to get service this year. Construction continues to progress on the remaining seven areas slated to receive access in 2019.Grant PUD's Senior Manager of Wholesale Fiber, Ru...

Dam operations will be modified during investigationEPHRATA – Priest Rapids Dam operators extinguished a small fire in equipment called an exciter, which provides energy to start up one of the generating units, shortly after 1 a.m. today. The fire affected Unit No. 7 at Priest Rapids Dam. On Oct. 3, there was a similar fire in the exciter for Unit ...

​​​​​Grant PUD commissioners Oct. 8 unanimously agreed to oppose breaching the lower four Snake River dams. They cited the value of hydropower as a clean, renewable and necessary resource; the successful efforts of Columbia River dam operators to get fish safety past their projects; and the minimal importance of Columbia and Snake River salmon as a...

Grant PUD forecasters see reduced need for electric-rate increases, as a strong financial outlook for Grant PUD is expected to continue, commissioners heard Tuesday during the first two of three scheduled public hearings on the proposed $291 million 2020 budget."We're in the best financial position we've been in for many, many years at the District...

 Since innovation plays such an important part in Grant PUD's mission and values, we wanted to give you a peek into just a few projects our team has been working on.

Commissioners invite all customers to attend, ask questions and provide comment. Grant PUD Commissioners will hold three budget hearings before adopting the utility's 2020 budget later this year. The hearings provide customers with the opportunity to learn how Grant PUD proposes allocating and spending its money next year. The three hearings are al...

Commissioners got their first look Tuesday at a proposed $291 million budget for 2020 with staff recommendations to reduce debt by using surplus cash savings and limit an electric-rate-revenue increase to customers to one-tenth percent. Budget hearings for public comment are scheduled Oct. 8 in Ephrata and Moses Lake and Oct. 10 in Quincy (see sche...

New processes that allow Grant PUD to more accurately track its costs, together with improvements to forecasting methods, are expected to produce more accurate budgets and ease the rate burden on customers, commissioners learned Tuesday. Commissioners will get their first look at a detailed 2020 budget forecast at their Sept. 24 commission meeting,...

Grant PUD works hard to ensure salmon make it past our Priest Rapids and Wanapum dams and find the habitat they need on our part of their journey to the ocean and back again to spawn.We spend millions annually on research, safe passage, hatcheries, and predator control to boost fish populations and improve river habitat. Through these efforts, Gran...